10th Anniversary Celebration
October 22, 2020 7:00 PM Streaming Live on Facebook and YouTube #CIFturns10
Master of Ceremonies: Rodrigo Velasquez
Honoring the Recipients of the Inspiration Award:
La Directiva
Edgar Aranda-Yanoc
Dr. Al Fuertes
The International Mayan League Program
Welcome Rodrigo Velasquez #dinnerathome
Vision for the Future CIF Staff
Learning New Words and Phrases #trilingual Lauriano Brito, John Cano, Geronimo Matom Ramirez, Rodrigo Velasquez
Recognizing our Sponsors Rosemary Theurer
Featured Speaker Ivania Castillo
Inspiration Awards Mayan Weaving Maria Brito
Honorees La Directiva introduced by John Cano accepted by Geronimo Matom Ramirez
International Mayan League introduced by Nana Maria Teresa, Spiritual Mam Elder, Board Member, and Founding Member
accepted by Juanita Cabrera Lopez, Lorena Brady, Melvin Camey, Janet Hernandez, Alejandro Santiago, Mercedes Say, Eli Vargas
Dr. Al Fuertes introduced by Jerry Foltz
Edgar Aranda-Yanoc introduced by Alice Foltz
Closing Remarks Lisa Johnson-Firth, Rodrigo Velasquez About the Honorees La Directiva
Before the beginning of Centreville Immigration Fo- rum (CIF), the community of workers was at the cen- ter of CIF decision-making. In 2009, members met at Centreville Regional Library, with more than 100 packed into a small library meeting room to talk about what they wanted: work, respect, opportunity. Meetings continued nearly monthly in 2010 and 2011, at the library, at Centreville United Methodist Church, and in members’ homes. Alejandro Santiago Gonzalez, Carlos Santiago Gonzalez, Luis Lucas Ajpop, and Miki Carrillo stepped up to encourage others to join and to plan the system for job distribu- tion at the Center. They made decisions by consensus, and the community grew in strength.
In October 2010, Alejandro Santiago became a member of the first Board of Directors, and Carlos Santiago designed the first logo. Under their leader- ship, the community met to write the “Rights and Responsibilities” that the Centreville Labor Resource Center (CLRC) continues to use. Members visited centers in Maryland. To contribute to fundraising, they planned the first Fiesta (now the International Showcase) in August 2010, with traditional dances telling stories of Nebaj, Guatemala. They also performed for many years at Centreville Day, helping the wider community know Ixil music and culture.
In 2011, Alejandro and Miki cut the ribbon for the opening of the new CLRC, and both served on the first search committee for staff. The center itself was cleaned, designed, and painted by community mem- bers, including Don Pedro Cedillo, Felix Brito Ceto, and many others.
The Asamblea was, from the beginning, the voice of the community, and met regularly during the early morning at the center to discuss plans, policies, and discipline. Finally, in 2015, changes in the CIF bylaws named the Asamblea leaders “La Directiva,” and added more Board positions for members. Members included Pedro Brito, Benito Raymundo Chavez, Leonor Mariona, Juan Chavez, Abel Gonzalez, and Marcial Quinilla Santos. Pedro Velasco organized a series of socio-dramas with actors including Andres Guzaro and Brayan Perez Brito. Alvi Ramirez choreographed traditional dances and performed his own music with guitar and harmonica, singing of the pain and beauty of his Ixil experience.
In DC in 2016, Pedro Brito spoke movingly in his native Mayan Ixil language about the work and skill of the immigrants who built the new DC. His speech challenged the narrative that denies the contribu- tions of immigrants throughout the US.
New leaders joined the group from 2017 to 2020, including Jorge Castro, Brayan Perez Brito, Claudia Alvarez, Patricia Matom Matom, Francisco De Paz De Leon, and Jerry Harris. Tomas Geronimo Matom Ramirez, Lauriano Bernal Brito, and Ismael De Paz Brito joined La Directiva and the Board of Directors in 2019.
La Directiva and the Asamblea are the heart of Centreville Immigration Forum. Many members come from Nebaj, Guatemala, and represent the indigenous Ixil traditions of leadership, problem-solving, hard work, and artistic talent. All work together to build opportunity for the community. Without their leader- ship, Centreville Immigration Forum would not exist. About the Honorees International Mayan League
Remembering the past to ground us in the present in order to create our future The violent period of the 1970s and 1980s were some of the worst years of the war and genocide in Ixim Ulew (Guatemala) and led to the forced displacement of 1.5 million people, mostly Indigenous Maya seeking refuge. We were escaping the U.S. sponsored night- mare that descended over our ancestral lands in all of Ixim Ulew, particularly in the western highlands. The experiences we had made a marked impression on the lives of all of us who fled, and rooted many in the commitment to human rights, justice, and ensuring that history would not be forgotten and that the Maya could be seen as human beings.
It was during this period of forced migration and war that there was also organizing in the U.S. in re- sponse to these atrocities, and this was the Sanctuary movement. Within this context, a Sanctuary was established by the Monks of the Weston Priory in Vermont for a Maya Mam family, the Ixcots. The Ixcot family had been persecuted from Guatemala and during their migration lived and worked in coffee plan- tations in Chiapas where it was unsafe, and Mexican immigration officials patrolled the area. To survive, they suppressed their Indigenous identity and language to avoid attention. In 1984, the Catholic and Pres- byterian Church of the Sanctuary Movement helped them cross the border into the United States and ob- tain public Sanctuary at the Weston Priory in Vermont. Once in Sanctuary, the Ixcot family proceeded to denounce the atrocities in Guatemala and as part of the process to seek justice, helped found the Interna- tional Mayan League (Mayan League) in 1991 to support Maya refugees. The Mayan League was created by both Maya and non-Maya with allies from the Sanctuary movement in Vermont, and it was here that an official office was created.
During the early years of the Mayan League, the main goal was to raise the consciousness of the in- ternational community about the socio-economic, political, human rights, and cultural situation faced by the Maya inside and outside of Ixim Ulew and to create solidarity and accompaniment. After the signing of the Peace Accords, its work with the Maya in Guatemala was to help with post-war rebuilding and advancing Indigenous rights, particularly of Maya woman. From 2012 to 2016, the Mayan League moved its office to Washington, DC, and elected its first woman Executive Director, Juanita Cabrera Lopez of the Maya Mam people. Juanita is daughter to Elena and Felipe Ixcot. Her parents are now known by their original names Nana Teresa and Don Arturo, and they are among the founding members of the Mayan League. With the guidance of the Maya Community Council of the Mayan League, the organization has focused efforts on the leadership and participation of Maya women, language revitalization, Indigenous language interpretation, and cultural workshops focused on identity formation, trauma, and healing. Most critically, the Mayan League has responded to inhumane immigration policies including the Zero Tolerance Policy, family separation, and the deaths of Maya children under the custody of the U.S. gov- ernment. The Mayan League co-authored a first of its kind report, Indigenous Peoples Right to Exist, Self- Determination, Language and Due Process in Migration, submitted to the United Nations in the fall of 2019 as part of its Indigenous human rights advocacy work.
The Mayan League has worked with the Maya, victims of inhumane policies and genocide in Ixim Ulew and of the Maya Diaspora, revictimized by inhumane polices in the United States. In the DC/ Maryland/Virginia region, the focus has been with the Maya Ixil people in Centreville, Virginia, in alli- ance with Centreville Immigration Forum and to assist organizations in the region understand that the Maya are part of the fabric of the local community and that their specific needs and rights need to be ad- dressed for a just and fully inclusive immigrant rights movement.
Key Accomplishments with Centreville Immigration Forum Restoring Ancestral Knowledge Project- 2017 Through a process of Maya dance, music, and art, youth were able to explore concepts of identity, culture, history, and the relationship between humanity and nature. Youth created their own original dance pieces incorporating ancestral knowledge and shared their reflections with us in two distinct com- munity events, Cycles of Time and Dancing with our Ancestors. In the midst of so much uncertainty, the youth challenged all of us to see our collective humanity and move beyond our differences in order to bring solutions to the table and in unity between Indigenous, Latino, and African American communities.
Maya Ixil Interpreter Training- 2019 From October to December 2019, we worked with CIF to provide culturally relevant interpreter train- ing and leadership development. We graduated a cohort of 8 Maya Ixil interpreters and leaders in De- cember 2019. We began a process of creating a Maya Ixil glossary with community leaders and developed a curriculum of 60 hours for Indigenous language interpreter training.
COVID-19 Indigenous Response- 2020 Through three mutual aid efforts, two sponsored by the Mayan League and one as a co-sponsorship with CIF, approximately 432 individuals were supported with food. This was a collective effort with the support of SURJ NoVA and La ColectiVA. Additionally, the Mayan League helped secure a donation of 500 KN95 masks and hand sanitizers from the Piscataway Indian Nation, a donation given to CIF for the Maya Ixil community.
About the Honorees Dr. Al Fuertes
Al Fuertes is Associate Professor at George Mason University, Fairfax City, Virginia, in the School of In- tegrative Studies. Dr. Fuertes specializes in facilitation and dialog, global education, psychosocial trauma healing, conflict resolution, theology of struggle, anti- human trafficking, and displacement issues.
Dr. Fuertes’ fields of interest and specialization include facilitation and intercultural/interreligious dialogue; global education and cross-cultural experi- ential learning; conflict resolution/transformation and peacebuilding; community-based psychosocial trau- ma healing as a component in peacebuilding and community development; refugee and internal dis- placement; sustainability of indigenous communities in Southeast Asia; anti-human trafficking, ecumen- ism, and spirituality; theology of struggle/people’s theology/liberation theology.
Dr. Fuertes was a recipient of the 2019 Global Peacebuilder Award by the Daniel Fissell Music Foun- dation, the 2019 Outstanding Sillimanian Award, and the Alumni Recognition (2019) for his work in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation by the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He also re- ceived the 2015 Spirit of King Award, the 2014 Oscar Mentoring Excellence Award, the 2008 GMU Teach- ing Excellence Award, and the 2001 AT&T Asia-Pacific Leadership Award.
Dr. Fuertes is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). He currently works as a covenant minister of UCC Wellspring in Centreville, Virginia.
Edgar Aranda-Yanoc
Edgar Aranda-Yanoc currently works with the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Immigrant Advocacy Program as the Senior Lead Organizer and as the Executive Direc- tor of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO).
Edgar has more than a decade of experience work- ing in the field of immigrant rights in the Common- wealth. He has engaged in multiple campaigns for the rights of immigrants at the local, state, and federal lev- els. He was instrumental in increasing Virginia constit- uent support for federal immigration policy issues like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) and the companion DAPA program created for the parents of DACA youth. Edgar also has fought for several state-wide immigrant rights causes such as the expansion of in-state tuition to include immigrant youth as well as the recently passed legislation that will expand access to driver’s licenses to all Virginia residents regardless of their immigration status. A foundational component of Edgar’s work is the annual Virginia Immigrant Advocates Summit, now in its 11th year, that Edgar founded and continues to lead.
Edgar has served on different boards including the Executive Committee of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the Arlington Free Clinic, and the Complete Count Committees in both Arlington and Fairfax Counties. In 2019, Edgar was named one of the 100 most influential people for the Nation’s Capital Metro-Area Latinos by El Tiempo Latino, a regional Spanish language publication. In 2014, Edgar was awarded the Jane Bagely Lehman Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy for his work in helping to remove barriers to educational equity for undocumented immigrant students in Virginia. In 2012, he was recognized by the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy as an outstanding social justice maker for his dedication to advancing opportunities for Virginia’s Latino and immigrant communities. In 2011, he received a Practitioner Fellowship from the Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor from Georgetown University, where Edgar enjoyed the opportunity to study issues impacting im- migrant workers in a more in-depth manner. In 2010, Edgar received the Linowes Leadership Award of the Community Foundation of the Greater Capital Region.
Edgar received an LL.M. for foreign lawyers from the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law where he received the Professor Samuel Gyandoh Award for his outstanding professional and per- sonal service to the law school community. Prior to coming to the United States, Edgar was a practicing attorney in Peru. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Law from the University of Ancash in Peru Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo.
Thank You to our Generous Sponsors
Anonymous Jerry & Alice Foltz Dale & Rosemary Theurer Michael Gillotte Anthem HealthKeepers Plus Craig Kendall Mary Supley Steve Webb
10th Anniversary Celebration Planning Committee
We would like to acknowledge all of the volunteers who contributed to the planning of this event: Alice Foltz, Jerry Foltz, Hubert Graves, Caitlin Stephens, and Rosemary Theurer. Thank You for attending our 10th Anniversary Celebration!
Will you help us build a stronger community?
Give: text CIF10 to 443-21 or go to bit.ly/givefor10
Volunteer: visit centrevilleimmigrationforum.org/volunteer
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Connect: sign up for our email list by sending a message to [email protected] with “Sign up” as the subject
Mission
The mission of the Centreville Immigration Forum is to implement sustainable programs that provide immigrants in need with the means to improve their lives and become more integrated into the commu- nity; improve communication and cooperation among groups serving immigrants; and build community recognition of our strength in diversity.
Vision
Our vision is a community that provides acceptance and opportunity for all immigrants.
All of our programs include workers in leadership and decision-making and support the self-sufficiency of low-income immigrants.
Board of Directors
Claudia Alvarez, Brayan Geronimo Perez Brito, Lauriano Bernal Brito, Rose Mary Flores (Treasurer), Al- ice Foltz (Vice President), Hubert Graves (President), Betty Jacob (Secretary), Lisa Johnson-Firth, John Kennedy, Victor Lozano, Geronimo Matom Ramirez, Rosemary Theurer
Staff
Carol Robinson (Interim Executive Director), John Cano, Colleen Dowling, Katia Luna, Mary Supley